There are a number of different types of exercise apparatus that exercise a user's lower body by providing a circuitous stepping motion. These elliptical stepping apparatus provide advantages over other types of exercise apparatuses. For example, the elliptical stepping motion generally reduces shock on the user's knees as can occur when a treadmill is used. In addition, elliptical stepping apparatuses exercise the user's lower body to a greater extent than, for example, cycling-type exercise apparatuses. Examples of elliptical stepping apparatuses are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,316,898; 5,242,343; 5,383,829; 5,499,956; 5,529,555; 5,685,804; 5,743,834; 5,759,136; 5,762,588; 5,779,599; 5,577,985; 5,792,026; 5,895,339; 5,899,833; 6,027,431; 6,099,439; 6,146,313; and German Patent No. DE 2 919 494.
Most aerobic type exercise equipment such as exercise bicycles, treadmills and elliptical step apparatus calculate and display various exercise parameters such as elapsed time, calories burned and distance traveled. Because users frequently cross train on these types of exercise equipment, many of these users considered it useful to have a common workout parameter that the user can use to measure a workout. Distance traveled is a desirable parameter especially for people who are interested in training for races such as marathons. However, unlike treadmills and exercise bicycles, the user's foot motion on an elliptical apparatus is not directly translatable into distance. There are existing elliptical apparatus that do display distance traveled but the calculation of distance tends to be arbitrary making it difficult for a user to use distance as a reliable measure of a workout. Moreover, the display of distance on these machines in many cases is unitless further degrading the value of the information displayed.